What guns are women buying?

My ex carried a S&W model 60, but complained of it being too heavy in her purse. I gave her my colt Mustang that she now carries.:mad: I loved something about that little gun, but I would rather carry a 9.
 
My wife bought a Walther PPS 9mm. She loves it. Actually so do I.

The gun has one of the best triggers on any handgun that I have ever handled. Short smooth take-up, crisp trigger release and 1/10th inch reset.

The PPS has very mild recoil (actually less than my heavy Sig Sauer P229 - how the heck did they do that???)

Strangely, the PPS fits my wife's small hands and my large hands equally well (again, how the heck did they do that???)

We love it. But she won't ever let me carry it. I guess I'll have to get my own in .40 caliber.
 
The short answer is, "whatever their husband/brother/boyfriend pressures them into getting." I am so sick of the "what's a good gun for a woman" question that I have to bite back some pretty sarcastic quips when I hear it.

Best gun for a woman who just wants a home-defense arm? Something that weighs 4oz, has no sights, a dreadful trigger pull, and that kicks like a mule is apparently the common answer.

The real answer is, "whatever she shoots well." That seems to jibe very well with:

Most new lady shooters I work with at the range seem to like 4" K Frame 38's best for house guns.
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I can second that. Women learn differently than men, and with a nudge in the right direction and some constructive criticism (something they solicit and take way better than men), they can blossom into great shooters. The trick is getting them separated from the know-it-all spouse long enough to show them.

As it stands now, the mouse guns and J-Frames are the most popular ones going across the counter, though that's probably not what's best for most new shooters, regardless of gender.
 
Most new lady shooters I work with at the range seem to like 4" K Frame 38's best for house guns.
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Really, that's not a bad choice for anyone regardless of gender. The recoil of a .38 Special from a 30+ oz revolver is quite mild yet the cartridge is very capable for self defense, a DA revolver has about the simplest manual of arms available, the trigger of a S&W K-Frame is quite good as far as DA triggers go, the K-Frame's grip is such that it fits a wide array of hand shapes and sizes well, and a 4" barrel is long enough to give decent velocity and sight radius without being so long as to be unwieldy in tight spaces or easily taken away.
 
At the LGS the other day, 20 something year old female buying Ruger SP101.

Have also seen several 40ish year olds buying 9mm automatics.
 
My girl doesn't care a thing about handguns, but when she goes to the store she looks for the 20 gauge pump with the shiniest finish on it. They don't seem to carry too many of those at Sportsman's Warehouse.
 
+1 to the K frame .38, Thats my wifes favorite. She also has a Walther PPK in .380, a Ruger LC9, and the Sig .22
 
My wife falls somewhere in the middle, Pax.

She likes shooting with me, in an outdoor setting, once in a while. She also enjoys going to (and watching, or sometimes photographing) IDPA matches, but she won't shoot at one because she is new, and competitive, and those two things don't work well for her. (She won't play if she's sure she will lose.)

She prefers a rifle or shotgun to a handgun.

She prefers a T/C Hawken to anything centerfire.

Among handguns, she likes K and L/GP100 sized revolvers, although she also liked a CZ75 well enough.

But getting her to carry one? Good luck... I finally convinced her to take a CCW course with me on the 10th and 11th (we just moved to a new state). Doubt she'll carry, though.

She has a revolver, if she decides to carry. She liked my S&W13, but likes the look of stainless, so we got her a 3" 65. Will she ever carry it? No idea.

She tried my 442 a few times, but doesn't like shooting it. She says that if she does decide to carry, though, she may carry it - or alternate it with the 65.

But I'll be amazed if she carries.
 
Not to go too far OT, but we watched Lonesome Dove again, over the last two nights.

It struck me that, had either Lorena or Jane been armed, the whole Blue Duck side plot might never have occurred.

Blue Duck comes to kidnap Lorena... Lorena shoots Blue Duck (with gun Jake or Gus should have left with her). Dead side plot.

Roscoe, who never does use his revolver, grows a brain and gives the gun to Jane. Blue Duck attacks Roscoe; Jane shoots Blue Duck. Again, dead side plot.

I mentioned to my wife that, if I'm carrying a BUG and something happens, the first thing I am doing is handing her the BUG. She said, "Yes, you are."
 
I mentioned to my wife that, if I'm carrying a BUG and something happens, the first thing I am doing is handing her the BUG. She said, "Yes, you are."
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I know more than one woman who carries a gun in her husband's pocket. ;)

pax
 
I think women are alot like men in this regard. Once past the novice stage they will carry as much gun as they feel comfortable with and can shoot well. The only real difference is we men consider what we feel comfortable with in or holster and women what fits in their purse.
 
Do I have the only wife who detests pink?

She thinks stainless is pretty, though, whether on firearms or large appliances...
 
Women are buying ....what they can afford ...and ideally what fits their hands the best...( if they have someone intelligent that is helping them to pick the right gun / and ignore the stereotypes )....

same thing as men ....what they can afford / and what fits their hands ....(and to a larger extent, what they believe, that they hear in gun stores )...

For what its worth ...the ladies in my family ( 6 of them ) choose to shoot ...
( and granddaughters are from 12 - 20 yrs old ) ....and daughter in laws are mostly in their 30's - early 40's ....

1. 4" K frame S&W revolvers .357 mag (with lighter loads )...mod 19, 66's...
2. Sig 239's ...in 9mm
3. 1911's in a 4" - especially with an alloy frame - and in 9mm ...
They've all been to the range and shot a number of guns out of the rental cases....Glocks, Sigs, Berettas, variety of revolvers... and all of them come back to one of the 3 choices I've listed above.
 
My wife uses a Colt Officers Match 38 spl. when she shoots pistol. My mother (in her 80's) just traded me her Colt 1911 for my old 3 inch model 10 S&W because she was starting to having to much trouble racking the slide. She still goes out shooting regularly.
 
Whatever guns they want to. Far be it from me to dictate to anyone else what they should buy. Good advice is simply to pick something that meets the specific parameters they have in mind in addition to being able to shoot it well.

Recent purchases by/for my wife in our household include: M&P9c, M&P9JG, Colt Cobra, P238, SIG 1911-22 and a 9mm AR SBR. I guess we have missed some long arm categories, but she does have her eye on a particular model of defensive shotgun.
 
The Pink thing is a Myth...I'm sure this must differ in every State, but I bought my Wife a nice Sig. P-232 two tone .380 to carry and She told me to carry that sissy gun and she took my Glock-23..40. and two years later is still carrying it.. and She's liking my Sig. 1911 Ultra .45..:mad:
 
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